Norwell family returns home to heavy blaze

A Norwell family returned from a holiday skiing trip in Vermont when neighbors called early Monday morning to tell them their home was on fire.

By Stephanie Spyropoulos and Patrick Ronan

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

By Stephanie Spyropoulos and Patrick Ronan

Posted Dec. 26, 2011 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 26, 2011 at 4:39 AM

By Stephanie Spyropoulos and Patrick Ronan

Posted Dec. 26, 2011 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 26, 2011 at 4:39 AM

NORWELL

» Social News

Hours after celebrating the holiday with family, James and Erin Schipani stood outside the fire-blackened rubble of their Heritage Lane home and said they were grateful no one in the house when the fire started and no firefighters were hurt trying to save it.

“We had Christmas here last night,” homeowner James Schipani said Monday, as he pointed through a broken window to the family room.

“My biggest fear was that a firefighter would be hurt,” Erin Schipani said. “I want to be able to acknowledge everyone who has helped out.”

Ten fire trucks from seven towns responded early Monday morning to the two-alarm fire that destroyed the Schipani’s three-story home, located on a cul-de-sac off River Street. No one was in the house when the 4 a.m. fire started because the Schipanis and their three children had already left for a ski trip to Vermont.

It took firefighters about four hours to extinguish the fire. Fire Chief Andrew Reardon said the fire started in the garage and left the L-shaped home uninhabitable. No firefighters were injured. Damage to the house is estimated at more than $1 million, Reardon said.

He said the cause of the fire is unknown, but appears to be accidental.

“We’re very comfortable saying that this was not an intentionally set fire. We don’t believe it was anything suspicious,” Reardon said. He said his department and the state fire marshal are investigating.

Multiple 911 calls were made at about 4 a.m. Some neighbors reported hearing several explosions, which were later determined to be the tires on the two cars parked in the garage, fire officials said.

Reardon said there were some structural collapses in the home, including the master bedroom above the garage and the second-floor bathroom over the kitchen. He said winds began to strengthen at about 5 a.m., but they didn’t significantly impede the firefighting efforts.

“When I first arrived, I was concerned about a potential extension of the fire to a neighbor’s home on Heritage Lane, but the first-in crews did phenomenal work in preventing that,” he said.

All of the family’s Christmas gifts were in the house at the time of the fire. Reardon said he didn’t know if they had all been destroyed.